Sure Affinity, a developer recognized for its co-development tasks on main franchises and video games like Call of Duty, Halo, and Hogwarts Legacy, has been offered to Key phrases Studios. You won’t have heard of the Dublin-based Key phrases, however the firm is gigantic–it owns 50 firms world wide, lots of that are linked to the online game trade in a technique or one other.
Key phrases paid an undisclosed sum for Sure Affinity, and as a part of the buyout, CEO Max Hoberman and president Paul Sams will keep on with the corporate. Key phrases mentioned it is enthusiastic about Sure Affinity’s future, which features a “robust pipeline of high-quality tasks.” Considered one of these is the sport Exodus, which options Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey. Sure Affinity is a co-developer on the sport with Archetype Leisure, which itself is a division of Wizards of the Coast.
Key phrases CEO Bertrand Bodson mentioned the corporate has “huge respect” for Sure Affinity, whereas Hoberman mentioned he was “thrilled” to promote to Key phrases “at this most tough time out there.” He mentioned promoting to Key phrases offers Sure Affinity and its 180+ workers “stability and a supportive residence.”
The online game trade has confronted a tricky stretch prior to now few years relating to mass layoffs. Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden gave a speech lately the place he known as for a “hard reset” of the video game industry’s business models, warning that the present state of the trade could be a “death sentence.”
Sure Affinity is Key phrases’ second main buyout in 2024, following its deal to amass Wushu Studios in August.
Key phrases additionally owns Heavy Iron Studios (Marvel’s Avengers), D3T (The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt), and Tantalus Media (Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD), together with PR and artistic service companies like Fortyseven Communications and Massive Farmer. According to IGN, Key phrases purchased at the least 4 firms per 12 months between 2016 and 2023 and had greater than 13,000 workers on the finish of 2023.
As for Sure Affinity, the studio was based in 2006 by Hoberman and different former Bungie builders. In addition to supporting different developer’s tasks, Sure Affinity made its first authentic sport, Age of Booty, in 2008. Extra lately, Sure Affinity was within the information when it got here to gentle that the studio was engaged on a battle royale mode for Halo Infinite till it was canceled.
In March 2024, Sure Affinity laid off about 25 workers, its first spherical of great cuts in practically 20 years of operation.
